VIDEO: Springsteen Inducts Van Zandt into New Jersey HOF

Steven Van Zandt was honored last night (May 6) by being inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and who better to do the honor than Bruce Springsteen.

The Boss was a surprise booking for the event, which also honored the likes of Meryl Streep, the Four Seasons, Debbie Harry and Gloria Gaynor.

Springsteen touched on many things during his speech, including how he and Van Zandt met and all of his projects, from his acting career to his music education charities the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation TeachRock.  

Of course, there were a few laughs, too, with the biggest coming from Springsteen calling Van Zandt, “The sole creator of the male babushka,” and  “...the only man I know, besides Hugh Hefner, who has figured out how to spend his whole life in his pajamas.”

A grateful, humble and humorous Van Zandt said of Springsteen and the E Street Band, “He was the only other person I had ever met, to whom, for whom, rock and roll was everything.  Not a job. Not a convenience. Not a way to fortune and fame. Not a way to get laid. Though we would be all of those things...With Bruce and the E Street Band, we would do what only a few had accomplished in history before us.  We did the impossible! We made New Jersey hip!”
 

Fortunately, a performance was also in order, and Springsteen joined Van Zandt for a rousing rendition of “I Don’t Want to Go Home” by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, which was written by Van Zandt.

Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.